Investors update: Zoetis gets $15.3m to boost livestock production in Africa

Zoetis gets $15.3m to boost livestock production in Africa

Highlights

• Global animal health company Zoetis has received a $15.3 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to further develop and integrate solutions aimed at improving livestock health and productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• The grant will help Zoetis to expand its original African Livestock Productivity and Health Advancement (A.L.P.H.A.) initiative to include aquaculture in addition to cattle, poultry, and swine in seven more countries.
• More so, this new funding will boost access to veterinary products, services, and diagnostic tools to increase the productivity of smallholder farms, with a particular focus on female farmers.

Source: Yahoo Finance

Our Takeaway

Expanding and improving access to veterinary medicines, vaccines, and services are essential for animal health, nutrition, and an inclusive, sustainable economy. Drawing on the success of the company’s first A.L.P.H.A. initiative, which began in 2017 in Uganda, Nigeria, and Ethiopia, and later expanded into Tanzania, the new grant will seek to further animal health and farmers’ livelihoods through enhanced training – with a target to train 100,000 stakeholders by 2025. There will be a strong focus on gender diversity, including women-led, female-only training courses optimally designed to maximize attendance.

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Central Bank to launch a digital platform for T-bills, bonds

Highlights

• Kenyans will from this month be able to buy government securities from a digital platform, according to Central Bank (CBK) Governor Patrick Njoroge. 
• Known as DhowCSD, it marks a departure from the current USSD system which is limited in many ways and will open up the market for more Kenyans, including those abroad, allowing easier management of trading accounts. 
• Diaspora remittances rose by 8.34% to over $4 billion in 2022, overtaking individual major exports of coffee, tea, and horticulture. With the introduction of a digital system, the CBK seeks to net some of the inflows.

Source: Kenyans.co.ke

Our Takeaway

The CBK’s new digital platform has several benefits. It provides a convenient and accessible way for citizens to invest in government securities, which can help increase financial inclusion and promote a savings culture; improves efficiency by eliminating the need for physical transactions and reducing administrative costs; enhances transparency and accountability by providing real-time access to information on investments and returns; and can potentially increase demand for government securities, which can help to fund government projects and reduce reliance on external borrowing. Overall, it is a positive step towards modernizing Kenya’s financial sector and promoting economic growth.

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Villgro backs African healthcare startups with over $2m

Highlights

• Villgro Africa has invested over $1.36 million in 36 Kenyan healthcare startups over the last 7 years with plans to launch a Biotech Innovation Hub as part of its regional expansion. 
• The incubator and impact investor announced these plans as it launched its 2015-2022 Impact Report at the annual 2023 Sankalp Summit.
• The report shows that over the last seven years, Kenyan startups received the lion’s share of Villgro Africa’s investments accounting for $1.3 million out of over $2.1 million committed since inception.

Source: ABC

Our Takeaway

As Africa catches up with the developed world in terms of technological progress, accelerators, incubators, and pitch competitions help to bridge this gap by providing crucial access to capital and mentorship to startups. Villgro’s efforts, yet another notable player in an active early-stage support ecosystem for African startups, are even more crucial considering the need to address several major challenges in the continent’s healthcare sector.